Pleasure boats, and especially motor-powered boats, have heretofore been provided in a multitude of hull designs. Such craft may range anywhere from one or two-passenger rafts or dinghies carrying an outboard motor to luxurious speedboats and cruisers.
It is likewise known to provide powered pleasure boats having circular, substantially circular or dish-shaped hulls. A prior art patent search relating to circular boat structures revealed the following representative patents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,791,981, 2,826,163, 2,849,978, 3,335,436, 3,382,513, 3,391,669, 3,493,982, 3,710,408, 3,548,428 and 4,273,060, French Pat. Nos. 2,366,988 and 2,526,395, Belgian Pat. No. 549,025, and British Pat. No. 2,040,830. Of the foregoing, U.S. Pat. No. 3,382,513 shows a basic circular hull, U.S. Pat. No. 2,826,163 and Belgian Pat. No. 549,025 show the combination of an outboard motor with a circular hull, and U.S. Pat. No. 2,849,978 shows a submersible circular boat having a depth regulating blade attached to fins.
None of the prior patents listed above show or suggest a circular boat having a planing hull with skis attached to the hull, or a mode of operation and control similar to that embodied in the subject invention, however.